Disclaimer. As per Chapter One. If you recognise it……etc.
Chapter Three.
A Plausible Explanation
Noises. Ambulance siren. People talking. Bumping, movement, more voices, something sharp in her arm, stinging, something over her face, no, fight it, firm hands hold her head. Mask put on…breeze coming out of it…...sleepy………
-----------------------------
Her eyes flicked open. White ceiling, smell. ….. A hospital. Noises. Where was she? Cleveland still? She tried to move. Her neck hurt. She brought a hand up to it. A bandage. Loose enough but it felt tight underneath, as though she'd had stitches.
Oh. God. The alley. That man. Harvey. Panic set in as she recalled the events. She tried to get up, saw the IV tubes in the back of her hand, and the machine she was attached to started bleeping rapidly and a nurse came dashing in.
"Mrs Raines, calm down. You're alright. I'm Nurse Samuels. You're in Cleveland General Hospital. You had an accident but you're going to be alright. Calm down. Steady now. You're safe. You're safe. We've contacted your father. We found his details in your purse. He'll be here this afternoon.
Audrey's mind took in the information. "What happened?"
"You fell Mrs Raines. We think it was a barbeque fork. We gave you a transfusion and stitches. You're going to be alright. You just need to rest, and stay calm."
"No, where's the girl…..I-I mean the woman who saved me? ……Barbeque fork? No, no, I was attacked, … he bit me…….His face changed and he……..he bit me. She stabbed him and he exploded……….. Into dust. Then the President was there." Audrey rambled.
The nurse smiled at her and checked the chart. "I'll get the doctor to look at your meds…..I think you've been given a little too much pain killer." She said gently.
Audrey was puzzled. "No….It was real…..His name was……….Harvey."
"Wasn't a six foot white rabbit by any chance?" Said a voice from the door.
She carefully twisted her body and looked around at the smiling doctor who had just entered.
"Hi there. I'm Doctor Seddon, and you had a lucky escape Mrs Raines. Another few minutes and that fork would have been the death of you."
"I keep telling you, it wasn't a barbeque fork. Someone,……Some thing ….. Bit me!" Audrey was getting irate now. She put a hand to her neck as it throbbed. "Find me the woman who saved me. …. Faith! Her name was Faith. And the black man, he looked just like President Wayne Palmer. They'll tell you." She pleaded.
The doctor's voice was calming. "Look. Mrs Raines……Audrey. I'm going to adjust your medication, there's obviously some reaction to the ones you're on. They're giving you hallucinations. Now, I'll get you the officer who attended the scene, he needs to talk to you anyway, to get a statement from you. Although I wouldn't ramble on about things that didn't happen." He signed the charts for the nurse and made for the door. Pausing, he turned.
"Get some rest, you've had a traumatic experience, and you lost a lot of blood. If you rest and don't think about it, it will all make sense. Besides, I'm told your father's on his way here from Washington, I don't want him to think we've not been taking care of you."
Audrey could smell a rat. A nice, placating, and plausible rat. She lay back in the bed and planned her next move…….Her father. He would believe her.
End of Chapter Three.